4
It was the dead of night. During the previous few days Callum had been preparing the village to defend itself in the case of the attack. When pressed, he offered no reasoning other than that this man was a brute and had an evil look in his eyes. Abbie suspected that there was something more to it than that, but everyone else accepted the explanation without question. Callum delayed a hunting party so that he would be in the village when the attack happened, and as the nights passed without any event, his paranoia and worry only grew. He peered through the forest, keeping sentry like a man possessed. Abbie was glad, for it kept him away from her, but also worried because he resembled a man losing his grip on his sanity and she feared for what may happen if he lost his mind and went completely mad.
But while Callum was so focused on an attack from the forest, he forgot about the lake. His clan had only built simple fishing boats, but the same was not true of the clan across the shore. In the quiet of the night, a long, narrow boat slipped across the water and a number of scouts skulked through the town. They stayed in the shadows and made no noise. Abbie had been sleeping peacefully when she was awoken by a hand clamped around her mouth and a bag pulled over her head. She struggled against them, trying to lash and kick out, but there was no hope. Her screams were muffled, and just as quickly as they arrived they departed again, this time with Callum's wife. The boat slid across the water, and when daybreak came chaos ensued, but of course Abbie did not know this, for she was being taken to a new clan.
The men in the boat said not a word. Abbie twisted her head but she could not see through the blackness of the bag. Her hands had been tied and the rope dug into her wrists. Her throat tightened and her heart was pounding as she wondered what awaited her. Was she being taken from the arms of one brute to another? Would her sorrow ever end? Only time would answer her questions, but she had an unsettling feeling as she felt the boat sail over the waves. They approached the shore and she was hauled off the boat. She stumbled against the sandy shore, and the men holding her didn't seem to care about her well-being at all. She was flung down into a room of some sort, for she heard a door being locked. Her arms were still tied and no matter how hard she tried to twist her head she was unable to free it from the dark sack. With nothing else to do, she slept, only to be awakened at the crack of dawn. The sack was pulled from her head and she saw a man, just a normal man, staring at her.
“Rise and shine,” he said.
“What do you want with me?” Abbie asked defiantly.
“Oh, it's not what I want with you, it's what Duncan wants.”
“And who is this Duncan?”
“You'll find out,” he said, and when he smiled she saw that he was missing some teeth. He provided her a tray of simple food and untied her hands. Outside she could hear that things were busy and there was lots of loud chatter, but she was unable to see anything. She wondered what was happening at home. By now Callum would surely have discovered that she was missing and he would be rallying the troops to come and get her. They did not have the ships to traverse the lake so they would have to make the long ride through the forest, which would take a few days. Abbie hoped that she would survive that long.
In the late afternoon, when the sun was at its peak, the man with the missing teeth came to fetch her again. He grabbed her arm roughly and hauled her out of the small hut. She screamed and hollered but nobody was there to help her, they all just looked at her with slight interest. Eventually her throat grew raw so she stopped her protest, knowing that it wasn't doing any good. The man took her to another hut, this one larger, and when he pushed her through the door he stayed outside.
Abbie looked forward and saw a man with his back to her. He wore a sheepskin and a crown made of branches. His long black hair was tied into a ponytail and it swung along his back like a pendulum. By most measures he would have been an imposing hulk of a man but in comparison with Callum he fell short, and Abbie wondered why her husband had been so afraid of him.
“I apologize for the rough treatment,” Duncan said in a soft tone. It took Abbie by surprise and she found herself to shocked to reply. “These are desperate times and they called for drastic action. Do you know why you are here?”
“Because you're going to attack my village?” Abbie responded. Some of the old fire that had been burning in her youth returned. During her marriage the fire had been quelled but now she had a new target for her frustration, and while she couldn't fight back against Callum, Duncan was a different proposition altogether. He chuckled softly and then raised his head, sighing heavily.
“Is that what you really think of me?” he said.
“That you're a savage and a brute? That's what I've been told.”
“By your husband no doubt.”
“Of course. And it's plain to see from the way you stole me from my bed and took me captive.”
“Again, I am sorry for that,” he said, and the words were heavy with emotion. Abbie studied him and started to think that there was more to him than what Callum had suggested. After all, she knew how deceiving appearances could be, and yet she was wary too. “But we are not like you people. We are not the brutes here.”
“Do I look like a brute to you?” she asked. At this point Duncan turned around and studied her with his eyes. She saw that they were a deep blue. His beard had flecks of gray in it, suggesting that he was older than she had assumed. His eyes were kind too, and had a weariness about them that she found she could sympathize with.
“No, I have to admit that you do not, and that is what I find most puzzling about this turn of events.” His gaze drifted down to the necklace. He started to say something and then stopped himself, before smiling at her. “It's a pleasant day outside, would you care to join me for a walk?” Abbie accepted the offer, unsure what to believe.
The sun hung high in the sky and it bathed the world in a resplendent golden glow. The air was fresh and it reminded her of how her village had been in the days before the barbarians attacked. The lake shimmered under the sun, and she looked out to the opposite side. It was too far to see anything except a faint plume of smoke, but Callum was sure to be amassing forces. Duncan led her away from the town to the edge of the forest, where they walked around the quiet fringes. It was a while before they spoke, but Abbie noticed that Duncan kept glancing at her necklace, and eventually she asked him why he kept looking at it.
“Before I answer that...how much do you know of your husband?”
“More than you, more than anyone else.”
“But what of his...travels, and the tributes he takes?”
Abbie cast her eyes downward, ashamed. “He only tells me that he takes a tribute for the services he offers. That they are earned because of the protection he can give all the villages but I...I fear that is not the whole truth.”
“Yet you wear it as thought it was your own.”
“He made me. I'm sure you've seen how...persuasive my husband can be.” It was at this point where Duncan stopped and pulled Abbie aside. He took hold of her chin and tilted her head up so that he could look into her eyes. She tried to glance away but his stare was mesmerizing and he seemed to look more deeply into her than anyone had before. She felt him inside her and yet it was not a feeling of invasion, more a feeling of comfort, as though he was swallowing up the loneliness that had resided inside her, as though he witnessed all the pain and anguish and shared the burden.
“I can see you have suffered a great deal. Perhaps I was mistaken in my initial judgment, but you cannot blame me for I only had your husband's reputation to go on.”
“What do you mean by that? What's going on?” Abbie asked. “Why did you take me?”
Duncan sighed. “First tell me what your husband told you about us, if anything?”
“He said that you were planning an attack on us, that you were a savage. He acted frightened, more frightened than I had ever seen him, so when I met you I assumed that you would be...a monster.”
“I am glad to s
ee you were mistaken. It is interesting that he is scared though. I assume it isn't me he is scared of, but the truth.”
“And what is the truth?”
“That he is the only brute in this land and that he is the barbarian, the one responsible for so much suffering.” He looked at her with cold eyes, eyes that had seen so much sorrow, and to hear it from his mouth struck a chord in Abbie's chest. She knew now that she had not been the only one who was a victim of Callum's evil.
5
“Tell me more about what he has done to you,” Abbie said. She was sitting on a fallen log now, and Duncan was leaning against a tree. There was a slight breeze that tugged at her dress, but otherwise it was a calm and peaceful day.
“Callum has been tormenting the local tribes for a while now. He's offered protection but it is him who we need protection from. He asks for more and more tributes, which only make us weaker, and finally I have had enough. I am tired of the way he thinks he can bully us and make us submit. So I took his wife. I refused to give him something he wanted yesterday and I could see in his eyes that he was not used to being told no, and I knew that he would be back. It would seem that he is trying to whip your tribe up into a frenzy. I took you to use as a peace offering, hoping that if I offered you to him we could come to an agreement.”
“I fear you may have made a grave mistake. Callum is a proud man and he will not take this lightly. Sadly, he will be more offended that you dared to take something of his than the woman he loves. I am just a possession to him, no more or less than anything else he owns, and most likely he will simply try to take me back by force. I would urge you to prepare your town for an onslaught. He has started to believe his own hubris, that he is invincible, and he will not stop until anyone he sees as an enemy dies at his hands.”
“Is there no chance that you can reason with him? I do not want to see any bloodshed.”
“I only wish I could but my standing in the clan is that of a figurehead now. They are wrapped up in their worship of him and they will not be dissuaded if he orders them to war. I am sorry for his behavior. I have had to endure it far longer than anyone else and I know the pain you must have been going through. Please, take this back, I can tell that it is of some importance to you,” she said, unclasping the necklace from behind her neck and thrusting it into Duncan's hands. He seemed surprised at the gesture and he swallowed hard while his eyes glistened with tears. He studied the necklace and nodded slightly, then buried it in his pocket. Then, he turned and marched off, and Abbie had to quicken her pace to keep up with his long strides.
“Did you ever hear the stories about the creatures in the forest?” he asked, but he kept on talking as though whether she had indeed heard of them or not didn't matter. “I always used to believe in them. I used to pray to them, and asked them to bless me and those I cared about but in the intervening years my faith in them has wavered. I thought I saw one once, as a young boy. I had been riding all day and I was growing weary. Night was falling and I was afraid that I was going to be lost in the woods, but the glow of a fairy guided me home. I never actually saw it, and to this day I wonder if my mind had played a trick on me, but at the time I was sure. Of course, everyone thought that it was just the work of a child's imagination.”
“I did hear the stories. I loved them as a child and I longed to see them come true. I would have given anything to experience what you did. I was always told that they would watch over us and guide our lives, make sure that nothing bad happened. They were responsible for the good in the world, and for that little piece of magic that made life wonderful, but I think somewhere along the way that illusion was shattered.”
“I don't know if they were killed off, or perhaps they grew tired of us and they left, but they no longer have any influence here and I think that's sad. I have long wanted to go on a quest in the mountains, for some have said that they enclosed themselves in a cave, protecting themselves from the outside world.”
“From what I've seen I cannot blame them. Especially when there are people like Callum around. I know that he would have seen them as the enemy and as a challenge. He's already destroyed enough...but I lost my faith because of him. Why did you lose yours?”
“I suppose now is as good a time to tell you as any,” he said, and a wistful look came upon his face. His hand moved into his pouch and he started playing with a necklace, and the reason for that became apparent when he launched into his tale.
“Many years ago I fell in love with the greatest woman in the world. She was everything I could have ever wanted from anyone, and our days were filled with happiness. We planned our lives together and every night I went to bed, thankful for the glory the world had bestowed upon me. We were even blessed with a child, and I didn't think life could get any better. And it didn't. Shortly after our child was born my wife fell ill, and so did the child. I consulted all manner of healers. I prayed until my throat was raw but nothing helped, and before I knew it everything had been taken away from me.”
“The necklace. It was hers?”
“Yes. And Callum wanted to take it. I could not let him have it.”
“But he took it anyway. So you took me.”
“I did. I am not proud of it and I dread to think what my wife would think of me if she knew...”
“She'd think you were a good man, that you were a man of principle, a man who isn't frightened to stand up to those who seek to dominate others. She'd see you for what you are, a hero,” Abbie said, and with each word she moved closer to Duncan until she was standing by his side. She breathed deeply and looked up at him with her deep green eyes. She ran her hand down his long arm and linked her fingers in with his, squeezing them until he released the necklace. He turned to her and they both saw in each other something that had been missing from their lives, a spark of innocence that they thought had been destroyed. She was so young yet had lived more than most, and he was a man, the head of a clan, with gray in his hair and beard and the burden of experience. But they each had something the other needed, wanted, and in that moment as they stood in the privacy of the trees attraction sparked between them.
It hadn't been anticipated or even necessarily wanted, yet it felt entirely natural. They were in a wooden clearing with the trees creating a canopy overhead. The branches reached over and blocked out the sun, so they were cast in green shade, and they saw in each other a common need for comfort and companionship. Both of them knew what it was like to lose something precious. They had both been jaded by events in their lives and needed to rediscover what they had been seeking for so long. Furthermore, both of them had a common enemy. Callum had destroyed the maturity that Abbie had been so looking forward to. She had been looking forward to growing up, falling in love, and raising a family, yet it had been far bleaker than she could ever have imagined. And now Callum was threatening everything that Duncan held dear. Both of them wanted to hold onto something that made them feel human, made them feel alive.
They stripped off each others' clothes and barely a word was spoken between them as they peeled away each others' clothes and fell to the floor. The grass was soft under their skin and they felt the unfamiliar flush of arousal surge through their bodies. Abbie had been so used to Callum's rough style that the tender touch of Duncan was enough to send thrills sparking through her body. She gasped and writhed as she welcomed him in close to her. His hands roamed around her curves and her flaming hair was splayed out underneath her – a sea of red amid the green scenery. Their kisses were fervent and desperate. Their tongues twisted together. Abbie felt around his body, all the old scars and war wounds, but she stopped when her palm rested against his chest for she knew inside his heart lay the greatest wound: that of his wife. It induced within her great sympathy and attraction, and a desire to remind him of the good in life. She wanted to touch him in a way that few had and reignite the passion that once burned so brightly within him.
His hands grew tighter around her as the sexual energy bristled through their bodies
. Abbie felt him harden and swell. Their lips scorched each other as their bodies entwined together. His long fingers searched her body and found the burning wetness, making her tingle all over. His hot breath washed over her as he buried himself in her neck, while her delicate hands ran down to take his hard lust, curling her fingers around it and stroking slowly. The sensations were so foreign and distant but everything came back to them quickly and they did what came naturally. Their bodies welcomed each other and melted together in the heat of the afternoon. They locked eyes and knew that there was no going back. She was married and he was from a rival tribe yet neither of them felt as though they were doing anything wrong. Being together and feeling the sheer excitement of attraction and intimacy again only added to their pleasure, and neither of them wanted to turn their back on it. They both smiled as they descended into the erotic bliss; their exposed skin brushed against each other, both of them gasping as their bodies shifted, twisting together until they became one entity.
She breathed in his scent and clung to him tightly as he plunged himself inside her, his hips moving in a steady, thrusting rhythm. He braced himself against the ground and pounded her body, and as her mind cracked everything that she used to be came pouring out and she was reborn. Her spirit rose through her body like a phoenix and she was gripped by the excitement of resurrection, and glowed with a new kind of beauty. She shrieked with delight and spun the two of them so that she was resting upon him, straddling him, her red hair falling behind her like a cape. Duncan held her hips steady as she rode and writhed atop him, basking in her glory as she recaptured all she had lost. A wide smiled adorned her face as her naked body convulsed and shuddered. For the first time in her life she was making love instead of having it forced upon her, and gone were the shackles of Callum's wedlock. The heaving rhythm of the sexual sea caused a flood inside her. Every fiber of her being shivered as the pulse crackled through her body and swarmed her mind, flowing out in a long warm release. When she collapsed against Duncan's sweaty, sticky body she did so with a long, anguished moan of delight.
Kidnapped By The Highlander Lord (Scottish Highlander Romance) Page 2